Super easy and really delicious vegetarian lasagne that cooks away in your slow cooker while you are at work. Perfect for busy, budget-conscious families, and free of sugar and any of the other not-so-nice ingredients you often find in ready meals or jarred sauces.
- pureed squash or sweet potato from 1 butternut squash or 3-4 sweet potatoes, or 2 cans pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
- 500 g frozen chopped spinach defrosted and drained
- 100 g hard cheese (parmesan or cheddar is best)
- 500 g mascarpone, ricotta or cream cheese (I like to use homemade ricotta)
- 1 egg yolk
- pinches couple of nutmeg
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 125g mozzarella (or a small amount of homemade white sauce (I make about 1 cup/250ml)
- 10-12 lasagne sheets (gluten free if needed)
- Parmesan, optional
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First, make the cheese sauce: mix the hard cheese with half the cream cheese, the egg yolk and a pinch of nutmeg in a food processor until smooth, then season.
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Mix the remaining cream cheese with the spinach and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
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Assemble the lasagne: Spread half of the squash puree on the bottom of the slow cooker, then top with half of the white sauce, followed by lasagne sheets (you may need to break them to fit). Top with half of the spinach, then lasagne sheets. Repeat this whole process again, topping the final layer of lasagne sheets with some torn or grated mozzarella (or white sauce) and a bit of Parmesan.
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Cook on low for 2-3 hours.* If you find that the mozzarella hasn't melted enough by this point, stick the crock pot under the grill or in the oven for a few mins until it is golden and bubbly.
* to have this cooking away for you while you are at work, especially if you don't have a slow cooker with a timer or your timer is preset to longer times, then get an inexpensive plug timer like this one, which allows you to program when to turn the plug on and off. Set your slow cooker on Low, program the plug timer to turn the plug on for 2-3 hours before dinner and leave it to cook for you.